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June 11 (UPI) -- The Justice Department said on Tuesday it has charged more than 500 defendants under new laws that target gun traffickers and straw purchasers. The new criminal statutes have been created under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted and President Joe Biden signed in 2022.
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The department said the new laws have been used, for example, to charge five suspects in Texas for allegedly trafficking military-grade firearms to a Mexican drug cartel, suspects in New Mexico for the illegal sale of machine guns and other weapons, and suspects in Pennsylvania in connecting with trafficking "ghost gun" kits.
"Criminals rely on illegal gun traffickers and straw purchasers to obtain the weapons they use to harm our communities," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. "The Justice Department is using the new tools given to us in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to hold accountable those who fuel gun violence."
The new statutes prohibit straw purchases and firearms trafficking and significantly enhances penalties for those crimes, mandating up to as much as 15 years in prison.
The statutes were enacted because criminals who cannot legally own weapons often will look for straw purchasers who have clean criminal records and who can buy guns for them easily.
In Tuesday's announcement, the Justice Department praised the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, saying it provides "powerful new tools to prosecute firearms traffickers and address gun violence." It has been helpful in getting weapons off the street, officials said.
Biden praised the law in 2022 that included millions of dollars in funding for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and an effort to include juvenile records to National Instant Background Checks.
